Let's start off by saying that we spent the day before we went trying to cure Mikey of his cold. We also spent the afternoon at Dr. Matray's office ruling out ear infections and getting the green light to take Michael on the trip. Michael had had a fever for two days and a runny nose. I contributed it to teething, Daddy was panicking. After Dr. Matray confirmed that Mikey was coming down with a little something he gave us the green light to head out west. We just had to pay attention to his fever and made sure he stayed hydrated. So, we were off. 4 AM Thursday morning and Michael is wide awake. This boy was excited for his trip. Off to Midway to catch our 7:00 flight, with a still wide awake baby. How this happened I'm not exactly sure. He finally slept the second we were taxiing in the plane. He was incredible on the flight to AZ. Only a few moments of weepiness when the pressure was changing. He loved the trays, the head of the guy sitting in front of him and the flight attendants.
When we landed in Arizona it was 69* and BEAUTIFUL. Because our room, and by room I mean personal casita, wasn't ready right away (we were early getting in) we spent a few hours laying poolside and Michael played in a sandbox. LOVED THE SAND! He covered his legs with it and started crying when we had to change locations. By the time our room was ready we were exhausted. Dinner lasted about three and a half minutes and we were all in bed and asleep at 8:30. Pathetic? Maybe. But we were spent. This also happened to be the evening I was informed that MANAGER LOU PINELLA was staying at the resort, as he does every spring training, and that we were basically neighbors. I was prying information out of maintenance men and bus boys trying to land myself in the perfect position to meet Sweet Lou. I shall end the day one story with this... I saw him. It may have been from our bedroom window while I was lying Michael down for bed, but I saw him. He had pulled up outside of our casita, hopped out of the car and opened the door for his wife and an older gentleman who looked a lot like our new batting coach and he was gone. It was him. No one walks like Sweet Lou, or can carry a front porch like that man. Needless to say I spent the next four days trying to get myself in a position where we would cross paths and it never happened. We hung out outside of his casita, walked about screaming his name and nothing. Also at the resort, Ron Santo staying right across the street. A dream vaca for any Cubbies fan.
Everyone up at 6:00 the next morning and it was a day of rest and relaxation by the pool. Mikey's first pool experience was wonderful. He laughed and giggled his way through two pools and a lazy river. His favorite part was floating down the lazy river in his personal floatation device. 76* and a sun tan later we were dining on "the only reason [Jane] wanted to return to Arizona." Flour tortilla chips at Aunt Chiladas. You can tell from the picture she was pretty excited to be reacquainted.
Saturday was a GORGEOUS day of Cubbies spring training baseball. They were playing the Sox, and it was 76* and not a cloud in the sky. Perfect for baseball. Let me tell you about HoHoKam Park. Tailgating a wonderful experience. Michael hung out with Cubbie fans, we got some moore sun, Daddy and Gramma were maybe the only Sox fans in the parking lot. It was beautiful. We had grass seats for the game, thought it'd be better with Michael and his stroller and all the luggage needed to get him through a eight hour outing. Not such a great idea. The grass is just like the bleachers at Wrigley. Packed with drunks and people without morals. Not exactly the place for a 9 month-old with a cold. Not to mention, it was packed. Filled to the brim! It was the first game of spring training. So, after seven innings and two Carlos Quintin home runs we were ready to call it a day. We were heading back for some sun deck time and for Michael's late nap. His late nap turned into a 14 1/2 snooze and he was bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6:30 AM... NO COLD IN SITE! I guess it's all he needed to enjoy the rest of his vaca.
Sunday... not so good. It rained all day and was 53*. We spent most of the day inside, tried to venture out to Old Scottsdale and were rained out of baseball games for the day. We were supposed to see the Cubs play at the Sox at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, but it was not a day for baseball. So funny, in Arizona because, you know, it is a dessert they really aren't prepared for any rain whatsoever. People act as they do when it's a blizzard here in Chicago. They drive slow, the streets flood and people stay in. It was a little out of the ordinary for us Midwesterners.
Monday was supposed to be our day of rest before traveling home on Tuesday, but because we had missed the game the day before we swapped our tickets for a Sox/Mariners game in Glendale. A gorgeous facility they have there. Really. We were ten feet away from the team at batting practice and three inches away from AJ Pierzynski (I am not a fan of him, but Den and Jane were excited by it). There were maybe 3,000 people there which made it wonderful to watch baseball. Really no one around us and Michael liked crawling about in the soft grass and spending time with Daddy and the Sox. A great day despite the temperature.
Here comes Tuesday, travel day back to Chicago and still no Lou. What's a girl to do? We had a wonderful, WONDERFUL time. It's always nice to just get away for a bit. Thanks to Gramma Jane for the amazing idea and for planning the trip. If you're ever interested in visiting the Phoenix area check out the Pointe Hilton at Squaw Peak Resort. It was spectacular. Michael and Gramma took morning walks and discovered new things (like babbling brooks). The accommodations were great (the breakfast buffet was a big hit with us). It's really a beautiful resort tucked away in the mountains of Phoenix. Check it out.
I took a few pics while we were there... 461 to be exact. I'd like to share a few of them with you.
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